Edward Nottingham

Edward Willis Nottingham, Jr. (born 1948) is a former United States federal judge in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado having served in that office from November 24, 1989 until his resignation on October 21, 2008.

Born in Denver, Colorado, Nottingham was raised in Eagle County, Colorado. He received a bachelor's degree from Cornell University in 1969, and a J.D. from the University of Colorado School of Law in 1972. Prior to his appointment as a judge, Nottingham was a local coordinator for Bush's 1988 presidential campaign. From 1972 to 1973 he was a law clerk in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado for Chief U.S. District Judge Alfred A. Arraj. Before becoming a judge, he spent a decade and a half in private practice in Grand Junction, Colorado, interrupted by a two-year stint as an Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Colorado from 1976 to 1978.

Nottingham was nominated to the court by President George H. W. Bush on October 20, 1989, to a new seat created by 98 Stat. 333. After a brief delay brought on by Senate efforts to block some Bush appointees, Nottingham was confirmed on by the United States Senate on November 21, 1989, and received his commission on November 27, 1989.

During his nineteen-year tenure, Nottingham oversaw a number of high-profile cases, such as a copyright infringement case involving Michael Jackson, a ruling invalidating a law creating a federal "no-call list" for telemarketers which was ultimately overturned, and that of former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio for insider trading. Although Nottingham's talent as a jurist was never in serious dispute, the consistency of his work and his judicial temperament were matters of widespread concern. On the one hand, the Denver Post reported that Nottingham had a reputation for judicial efficiency, and as "one of the best legal minds on the bench," . He received both notoriety and admiration for dressing down witnesses and demanding professionalism from attorneys .

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